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Chalaa
Slaver crabs are a intelligent species with a cultural history of complete and utter brutality to humanoid sentient species. Name Chalaa means "rightful masters" in Or, the species' dominant language which was spread during the Second Expansion. History Emerging from the thick, oily oceans of their homeworld and onto the beaches, the chalaa found themselves ill-suited to manipulate their environment. Seeking to remedy this, some discovered that many animals around them could be trained and act as living tools for them. Thus the chalaa spread across the planet, held aloft by the work of their slave-species in the even known as the First Expansion. Many decades later a war dubbed the Second Expansion left one empire the dominant nation of the species, spreading their philosophy and beliefs between the many nations they defeated. The conquerers told that their slave-species were worthless compared to the perfection of the chalaa, who they saw as the natural leaders and inheritors of creation. While some other civilizations had lived in symbiosis with their servants, the now-dominant faction instead abused them and treated them as nothing more than tools. Eventually the chalaa would make contact with humanity, and upon examining them, decided that they made superior slaves to their non-sapient animals, ushering in a new age and the Third Expansion. Biology Anatomy Chalaa are arthropod-like and bear some manner of relation to Earth crabs. They have a large wide abdomen which is connected to six long, pointed and multi-jointed legs and a pair of two long arms ending in bladed scythes. Sprouting from the front of the abdomen is what at first glance might resemble a humanoid torso, but is in fact laid out quite differently. Two arms sprout from below the "ribcage" and end in long-fingered hands. The back is covered in hollow spines which allow the chalaa to breathe both underwater and on land. The head of a chalaa is hook-shaped, with a complex mouth hidden on the inside of the "beak". They have a wide ovoid "hood" above which fans backwards and shelters four prehensile tendrils, each of which ends in a clawed grasper. A similar tendril emerges from the end of their abdomen, but ends in a sharp stinger which can inject a toxin which interferes in the neurochemistry of many species. Chalaa have six wide, orange eyes protected by armoured membranes and which serve as their primary source of facial body language. A chalaa's shell is smooth and pearly grey, fading to a darker blue at the joints. It is quite sturdy but also flexible like skin. They stand at about eight to nine feet tall, but can raise themselves up higher if required. Life cycle Chalaa can copulate directly or fertilize eggs externally, a trait carried over from their aquatic origins. Regardless, they will lay a clutch of about ten basketball-sized eggs which hatch into newborn chalaa in about six months after fertilization. Chalaa reach maturity at age ten, and live to be roughly a hundred on average, with a maximum lifespan of about one-hundred and fifty. Culture Slaves Technology Category:Species Category:Science Fiction